BBC Gardeners’ World presenter Monty Don has addressed one of the most common complaints he receives from viewers of the long-running gardening show – and they all centre around the same thing
Michael Moran and Natalie King
19:30, 06 Jun 2025
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Monty Don says viewers often make the same comment about the show(Image: undefined via Getty Images)
Viewers of Gardeners’ World often complain about the excessive birdsong in Monty Don’s Longmeadow garden, but the gardening expert insists it’s wholly natural.
Monty addressed this on the recent BBC Gardeners’ World podcast, where he recounted letters from viewers: “We’ve had a number of letters along the lines of: ‘I watch Gardeners’ World and I really enjoy it, but it’s spoiled for me by the fact that you impose this bird song which is so unrealistic and so over the top… why don’t you just record the natural sounds?’.
“And the answer is; ‘I hate to disappoint you, but that is the natural sound’.”
Monty acknowledged that at times the birdsong can be overpowering even for him: “It is really loud. And occasionally when we’re filming, we delay filming because the bird song is so loud, that even to us it feels a bit odd and unnatural.”
Monty and his wife Sarah took ownership of their family home in October 1991 when it was a weary two-acre field and an unkempt smaller area out the front.
Monty said the birdsong can be so loud they have to pause filming(Image: undefined via Getty Images)
Due to its location amid sprawling farmland, Longmeadow has become a sanctuary for a remarkable array of wild birds. Monty Don describes the neighbouring fields as hostile to birdlife, with agricultural chemicals stripping their feeding options.
Monty continued: “So Longmeadow is like, literally an oasis surrounded by not-so-good. We have great density of blackbirds and song thrushes and blackcaps and all kinds of songbirds.”
The expert points out that the birds create quite the spectacle: “Round about the first or second week of June, the Dawn Chorus starts about quarter past four in the morning.”
He continues to describe the crescendo of nature sounds: “We have a fabulous Dawn Chorus that rises to its peak at about five and then it’s gone and died down by half past five.”
But that’s by no means the end of the birds’ singing, with a second “Dusk Chorus” building up around sundown: “It’s about birds establishing their territory before nightfall,” Monty says.
Monty provides a glimpse into the vocal rivalry among the birds: “So you have one blackbird singing really loudly, then another will pick it up and challenge it, and then another in another part of the garden.”
Monty says his home enjoys the sound of a dawn and dusk ‘chorus'(Image: undefined via Getty Images)
This evening chorus carries on into the twilight: “And that will go through and that takes you into the dark, and then in the night the owls will call.”
Monty Don has shared his insights on how to make gardens more bird-friendly, emphasising the importance of not over-tidying your green spaces. He explained: “If you want birds in your garden, the biggest thing you can have is cover, trees, hedges, and shrubs.”
Monty also mentioned that features like long grass, a few rotting logs, and a pond are great for attracting insects which then bring in the birds.
He added: “Once you’ve got that, you don’t have to do very much at all. It’s there. We feed the birds in winter, but that’s it.”
See Monty on Gardeners’ World tonight at 8pm on BBC Two.
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